Farming.

[moysider]

Casualty from earlier in the year. happily it turned out ok!

[5 Sams]

I remember that thread from An Fear Rua....one of the funniest things I have ever read....."It was like scene from Platoon".....brilliant.

[gaah_man]

Casualty from earlier in the year. happily it turned out ok!

What happened that one moysider?

Victim of the grape?

[moysider]

God forbid. She'd never have been hit by me or anybody else. A big pet.

She was by herself in a calving pen. She must have been having a right ould scratch because she drove a door-bolt handle into her eye and then tore it out of its casing. I found her walking about in considerable discomfort with this thing hanging out of her eye. I nearly fainted! Took me a while to figure out what it was. I just rang the vet fearing the worst.
We put her in a crush and secured her head so she could hardly move it. Getting halters on was tricky because every time she shook her head the bolt became a swinging weapon. It came out easy enough though. The hooked end was caught in the eyelid and unbelievably the eye itself wasn t damaged. No stitches or anything. It was half closed for a few days but healed perfectly. She calved the following day as well.
One of the rare occasions when things actually work out far better than you thought they would.

[gaah_man]

I must need the glasses checked. I thought you were pointing at it with a bit of pipe which is the bit of steel. Looks horrible!

[omaghjoe]

Ha just read the Fear Rua thread there gas stuff.

We used to have the limos too crazy feckers. One young bull we had was for the test and he surprisingly enuff went into the crush handy enuff. He then came trundling up the crush and proceeded to launch himself over the side (probably about 5&1/2ft). He landed on his belly bending the tubing and slid off it, trotted into the yard, turned around and looked us and said "Is that the best yis have lads, sure I can do that all day!" Couldnt believe what id seen considering his weight and the amount of room he had to maneouer, it was impressive stuff.

Another older bull we had, had a problem with physical barriers, in that he completely ignored them. He usually ran with the cows and when he wasnt he would be in the yard. However once he got out on the road and proceeded to search for our a nice herd of cows. He wasnt to hard to track down in a neighbour's field, or to get shifted, but was he shifting in the direction we wanted? Oh no... he went for the hedge, a nice big thick hawthorn hedge with barbed wire fence. We're thinking, we got him...but he heads straight at the hedge.... and straight thru it... and thru another.... and thru another until he was back on the road . We got him going in roughly the right direction but he would take detours as he decided, our presence was a total irrelevance. We zigaged our way home in a similar fashion wrecking fences and hedges as we went. Weirdly enuff I dont think he was bad tempered he just liked to do things his way.

The ole boy reckons they have a touch of the Spanish bulls in them, which he reckons accounts for their wildness. Reasonable enuff with the calfing too and that from alot of Holstein cows, often requiring a pull, but virtually zero sections. Some of the younger cows tho it could be sore on. and the cattle were big framed but could be hard to fill out.

I also seen reading in the same thread about the dehorning, never knew that about the caustic soda technique, seems humane and relatively hassle free compared to the techniques Ive seen over the years.  Those boys that dehorn cattle in a past life musta been the master of torture in a medieval dungeon. Every bit of kit they pull out your going..."now what the feck is he gonna do with that....oh jaysus no, nooo!... "

[gaah_man]

Ha just read the Fear Rua thread there gas stuff.

We used to have the limos too crazy feckers. One young bull we had was for the test and he surprisingly enuff went into the crush handy enuff. He then came trundling up the crush and proceeded to launch himself over the side (probably about 5&1/2ft). He landed on his belly bending the tubing and slid off it, trotted into the yard, turned around and looked us and said "Is that the best yis have lads, sure I can do that all day!" Couldnt believe what id seen considering his weight and the amount of room he had to maneouer, it was impressive stuff.

Another older bull we had, had a problem with physical barriers, in that he completely ignored them. He usually ran with the cows and when he wasnt he would be in the yard. However once he got out on the road and proceeded to search for our a nice herd of cows. He wasnt to hard to track down in a neighbour's field, or to get shifted, but was he shifting in the direction we wanted? Oh no... he went for the hedge, a nice big thick hawthorn hedge with barbed wire fence. We're thinking, we got him...but he heads straight at the hedge.... and straight thru it... and thru another.... and thru another until he was back on the road . We got him going in roughly the right direction but he would take detours as he decided, our presence was a total irrelevance. We zigaged our way home in a similar fashion wrecking fences and hedges as we went. Weirdly enuff I dont think he was bad tempered he just liked to do things his way.

The ole boy reckons they have a touch of the Spanish bulls in them, which he reckons accounts for their wildness. Reasonable enuff with the calfing too and that from alot of Holstein cows, often requiring a pull, but virtually zero sections. Some of the younger cows tho it could be sore on. and the cattle were big framed but could be hard to fill out.

I also seen reading in the same thread about the dehorning, never knew that about the caustic soda technique, seems humane and relatively hassle free compared to the techniques Ive seen over the years.  Those boys that dehorn cattle in a past life musta been the master of torture in a medieval dungeon. Every bit of kit they pull out your going..."now what the feck is he gonna do with that....oh jaysus no, nooo!... "

Dehorning was some some session back in the day before hand held gas blower which we use now. We had a fella come and do it for us complete with syringe, litre bottle of anaesthetic and length of wire with 2 handles. 2 men holding the nose clamp and him sawing like a mad man. Blood squirting until the hot iron was applied. Was like a scene out of a horror movie. Nowadays the hand held torch is handy. Quick jab of anaesthetic and burn the stumps out. All done at 2-3 weeks of calving.

Never heard nor seen caustic soda being used, would be problem not be that it would burn right through to the skull and cause serious issues?

[Hereiam]

Farmers should be fined at marts if horns are not taken off at 2-3 weeks after birth. Would save a lot of suffering later on.

[BennyCake]

Need a bit of advice...

I'm not a farmer nor have a tractor, machinery etc. Have approximately an acre of ground (kind of boggy, not suitable for building on) been neglected last few years. Basically, in process of trimming hedges, fencing etc. Problem is the field itself, which has sort of become a wild flower meadow, mixture of all sorts; rushes, briars, nettles, grass etc.

I thought the best thing to do is re-seed, with the view that someone could hire it to chuck in a horse, goat etc, or failing that just get a farmer to mow it once or twice a year, and they can keep the grass/hay for their own life stock. Just to keep on top of it and stop it getting out of control really.

Grass/weeds a few foot high in places, so I presume best thing to do is mow, spray with roundup-type spray, leave to kill, then plough it in. Stuck for time, so mightn't get all done before winter, so just wondered if I got to that point (ploughed), what state would weeds be come spring? Ideally, would like all done and re-seeded before winter, but I'd be happy enough to pick it up in the spring providing things hadn't got out of hand again. Any thoughts?

Also, when reseeded, obviously weeds will grow naturally along with the grass seed, so would the grass/hay that would be mowed annually be good enough for a farmers use (or be good grazing for an animal)? Or would I have to periodically spray the field to stop weeds appearing?

[Denn Forever]

Would a Goat be able to clear the field?  Is it true they eat anthing?

[trileacman]

Need a bit of advice...

I'm not a farmer nor have a tractor, machinery etc. Have approximately an acre of ground (kind of boggy, not suitable for building on) been neglected last few years. Basically, in process of trimming hedges, fencing etc. Problem is the field itself, which has sort of become a wild flower meadow, mixture of all sorts; rushes, briars, nettles, grass etc.

I thought the best thing to do is re-seed, with the view that someone could hire it to chuck in a horse, goat etc, or failing that just get a farmer to mow it once or twice a year, and they can keep the grass/hay for their own life stock. Just to keep on top of it and stop it getting out of control really.

Grass/weeds a few foot high in places, so I presume best thing to do is mow, spray with roundup-type spray, leave to kill, then plough it in. Stuck for time, so mightn't get all done before winter, so just wondered if I got to that point (ploughed), what state would weeds be come spring? Ideally, would like all done and re-seeded before winter, but I'd be happy enough to pick it up in the spring providing things hadn't got out of hand again. Any thoughts?

Also, when reseeded, obviously weeds will grow naturally along with the grass seed, so would the grass/hay that would be mowed annually be good enough for a farmers use (or be good grazing for an animal)? Or would I have to periodically spray the field to stop weeds appearing?

I'd think if you get on the case that should all be manageable before winter. Bate it off and spray it quickly. Leave it the allotted time and plough. Let it dry for a while if you get the weather. August is meant to be right good so should suit for seeding.

Spraying off before the ploughing is a great job, really kills off the weeds well. Depends on how wet/poor your soil is but if the field is cut once/twice yearly it's your best bet to keep the weeds out. Graze with sheep or lighter animals and avoid grazing in wetter months. Also I'd advise cutting down the ditches as much as possible and opening up the headlands to help dry it out as best you can.

Even poor ground can be well maintained with proper care. Regular application of fertilizer is as important as spraying weeds as it helps the grass to choke it's competitors. Slurry in particular is some of the best fertilizer about if your ground is poor in nutrients but relatively dry.

Personally I'd avoid leasing it for horse/goat grazing. Mowing is really your best bet to keep it in good order, it avoids poaching the ground if done at the right time of year.

[BennyCake]

Thanks, T-man.

Forgot to mention I need the drains dug out, so that'll hold things up. As will this feckin' weather we're having, but hopefully I can get things sorted by winter.

Realistically though, I'd imagine in boggy land (although it has been shored), end of September would be the cut-off point for ploughing (or discing)?

What's the deal with seeding? I heard something about only doing it in a month with an R. Is this true?

Excuse my ignorance, what's the poaching you mentioned?

[gaah_man]

Not easy getting the second cut in with this rain men

[NAG1]

Not easy getting the second cut in with this rain men

What is the protocol for the roads during these silage drawing sessions?
Is it the farmers responsibility to give the road a brush after they are done to prevent it from becoming a hazard?

[gaah_man]

The decent farmer who does his own silage work will get out and clean where the road is mucked coming out of fields but the big contractors dont give a f**k. i'd normally give the road a scrape with the power link box if its bad